


Perfect

by NobodyOfficial



Category: DC Comics, Justice League International (Comics)
Genre: Body Positivity, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-28
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-23 01:18:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13179294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NobodyOfficial/pseuds/NobodyOfficial
Summary: Ted's feeling bad about his weight again, so obviously he needs his perfect specimen of a best friend to comfort him.~Lame title, I'm sorry.





	Perfect

Ted was beginning to drift off when he felt something drop heavily on to the couch beside him. He tried to ignore it, even though that was a terrible and possibly dangerous thing to do, and clung the ebbing tendrils of sleep. The thing wriggled and shifted, disturbing the couch cushions. Ted rolled over and leaned against the arm rest. The thing shuffled over towards him. Ted sighed and opened his eyes.

"What have I said about using the door? Just because you can get in doesn't mean you should."

"I would've knocked if you hadn't been asleep," Michael retorted. "What're you doing, anyway?" He smiled sweetly.

"Well, I was falling asleep so probably going to bed," Ted said.

"Without dinner? You won't feel well tomorrow."

Ted scowled and crossed his arms. He wasn't in the mood for being made fun of today, he'd been hard enough on himself. "Stop it, ok? I don't feel well now. Leave me alone."

"I'm sorry you don't feel well. Can I do anything?" Michael placed a gentle hand on Ted's shoulder. He shrugged him off. "Do you want a paracetamol or something?"

"No." Ted squirmed. "It's, it's not that kind of unwell." He tugged his sweater away from his stomach, hoping Michael wouldn't notice.

"Oh, umm, I can help with that too, if you like." He reached to put an arm around Ted's waist but he scrambled away, leaning over the arm rest to avoid being touched.

"Don't do that," he snapped.

"Why not? You're always complaining about how chubby you are; let me see!"

Ted stared at Michael in horror. Let him see? See what? His plump, over-indulged, stretch mark-littered stomach? Unlikely. "Absolutely not! No way! That's, that's, that's so weird!"

"It's not!" Michael protested, tucking Ted's hair behind his ear. He was tempted to lean into the touch but refrained.

"It is. It's so weird." With a nervous glance at Michael Ted drew his hands into his chest and his shoulders towards his ears. "And anyway, you just want to make fun of me." Michael was never overly malicious in his taunts, if anything they were friendly and affectionate, but any mention of his weight made Ted feel insecure.

"No, no! Of course I don't." Tentatively Michael put an arm around him. "Why would I do that?"

"It's just that when- Argh!" Ted squealed and pulled away as Michael lifted up the bottom of his sweater. "That is not ok!"

"Sorry." Michael allowed his eyes to drift downwards. "Aww, but your tummy's so cute!" He reached out to place a hand on Ted's stomach but he quickly pulled his sweater back down.

"Get off! That's so, so, so..." A tear rolled down his cheek. "That's so mean!"

"Mean?" Michael scrunched his face up in confusion. "I meant it as a compli-"

"Go on! Laugh at me then!" Ted interjected, waving his arms in frustration. "Tell me I'm not a real superhero! Tell me I'm useless and unworthy and, and urgh!" He hid his face in his hands. "Go away!" His whole body burned with shame. Not only was he an overweight embarrassment, but now he was crying in front of his friend. He wanted the couch to swallow him up.

"I'm not going to laugh at you, Teddy." Michael ran a hand down his back. "I didn't mean to upset you, I wanted to make you feel better. You're a great superhero."

"Then how come I'm paired up with you?" It was a low blow. Possibly even going too far. Everyone thought Booster Gold was a joke, an egomaniac looking for some self promotion, a trickster rather than a hero. Ted knew this was all just rumours but it could really hit Michael where it hurt.

"Ha, I'll give you that one," Michael chuckled. Or not. "Being a good superhero isn't about how muscular you are, though you have absolutely no problems there, it's about all the good decisions you make. You're a great guy, Teddy."

"No." Ted finally lifted his head up, glaring at Michael through tear-stained eyes. "Being a superhero is about having superpowers, which I have exactly none of. Dan didn't give me that suit because he believed in me, he did it because I was the only person there. I was a chubby, unfit science student, he knew that. He wouldn't have given it to me by choice."

Dan had never admired Ted for his athletic abilities, but rather his intellect. He had been a decent enough acrobat at the time, but that was more of a hobby and nothing he ever did was strenuous enough to keep him in good shape; it merely made him flexible. After receiving the suit Ted had worked himself sick to get a 'superhero physic', but that hadn't lasted long. His waist was very fond of clinging to extra calories. In fact, he was certain that by the time he first met Michael his muscle had already lost all visibility and his stomach and cheeks were soft enough for Michael to poke and tease him about.

"That's entirely untrue!" Michael exclaimed. Ted hadn't known he'd get so worked up about this. "Superpowers? That's bullshit! Dan gave you that responsibility because he thought you were strong and capable. You're absolutely perfect without superpowers."

"Want to check your choice of words there?"

"You're absolutely perfect," Michael repeated with a grin. "Anyway, you've always been a bit fat, why do you suddenly feel bad?"

Ted clenched his fist and turned away from Michael. He'd just been starting to feel slightly better, or at least moved on from one issue to the next, but Michael's observation that he'd 'always been a bit fat' sent his mood spiralling again. He'd been berating himself because he thought he'd gained a lot of weight recently but according to Michael he'd always looked like this.

"What do you mean?" Ted grumbled, refusing to look at Michael. "I've not always been this fat though, right?"

Michael looked torn between calming him down and telling the truth. "Umm, no. But you've never had a conventional superhero body or anything, you've always been quite chubby, and it's never stopped you from kicking ass. I'm kind of jealous."

"Of what? My ass kicking skills? I always knew I was the better fighter." Even in his current mental state Ted couldn't resist the jibe.

"No, of how attractive you are."

Now Ted was interested. The Booster Gold, tall, tan, lean, perfect, was jealous of Ted Kord's slow metabolism, stocky stature, and auburn curls? He had to be joking, or at the very least lamely attempting to cheer Ted up.

"You're pulling my leg, Mikey," he sighed. "Come on, that's a lie."

"What's a lie? You're stunning! Your hair is red, Teddy, red! That's a primary colour. Your hair is a primary colour and you haven't even dyed it, that's wild!"

Ted pushed his hair back, allowing Michael to see his reddened cheeks and wet eyes. He put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer, so they were both squashed in the middle of the couch.

"And-" Apparently Ted had more than one attractive feature. This was news to him. "Your eyes look like actual crystals, they're fascinating! And you're really short, it's cute-"

"I am not short!" Ted interrupted. "I'm average height! You're just freakishly tall!"

For a moment Michael didn't say anything and Ted was scared he'd offended him, but then he continued, "You're really short. And everything about you is so soft and gentle, it's enticing. I was made to look hard and battle-ready, but somehow you're both battle-ready and great to cuddle. I like it a lot."

"Hang on a minute," Ted said slowly. "So all those time you were 'complimenting me' you were actually complimenting me?" Over the years Michael had made several comments along the lines of how Ted's winter weight suited him very well, or his tummy looked cute in Lycra. Ted had always assumed he was joking, making fun of his chubby companion, and since he'd never said anything overtly mean Ted had left it alone.

"Of course," Michael smiled, then his face fell. "Oh God, did you think I was being mean? That's awful, I'm so sorry, I thought you knew they were compliments! I feel horrible now."

"No, I was just being stupid and insecure, I guess." It wasn't much, but Ted felt better knowing Michael had, in fact, never judged him by his weight.

"You are stupid, aren't you?" Michael said in an incredibly self-satisfied voice. He kissed Ted on the cheek.

"Eww, don't kiss me," Ted giggled.

"Why not? We are dating, after all." Michael said that as if Ted should know they were dating; they were definitely not.

"No we're not," Ted frowned.

"Of course we are, don't be silly," Michael grinned. Suddenly his face paled and his eyes grew wide. "We're not dating yet, are we?"

"Yet!" Ted exclaimed. "What do you mean yet? I'm not going out with you!"

"You'd be surprised." Michael raised his eyebrows, suddenly calm and composed again.

Ted eyes his lips suspiciously. The kiss had been kind of nice. Friendly. Not too different to how things usually felt between the two of them. "Kiss me again," he said softly. "Not on the cheek this time."

"Oh." Michael's cheeks flushed. He leaned back, eyes scanning Ted's face, then kissed him briefly. It was just a brush of the lips, the kind of kiss two preschoolers who had just decided they were 'going out' would share, but it made Ted shiver. He quite liked it.

"Hey! This must be when we start dating!" Michael said jovially. He reached to grab Ted's waist and pull him for a hug, then paused. "Is it alright if I touch your stomach?"

Ted grew warm and uncomfortable. Michael was being so sweet and so gentle and had basically just admitted his love for him, surely it wouldn't kill Ted to let Michael touch his waist. "As long as you don't hurt me," he said, feeling pathetic all over again. Why would Michael hurt him? Sure, he was fond of a friendly spar or boxing match, but even then he was conscious of hitting Ted (who never pulled his punches) too hard. It was just that people rarely wanted to touch Ted's stomach if it wasn't to hurt him.

"Of course I won't hurt you." Michael kissed him on the cheek again and Ted's manic heart rate slowed. He could get used to that; it would work wonders for his heart condition.

Ted closed his eyes and tensed a little, preparing for Michael to grab him just a little too harshly, but instead he found gentle fingers running across his waist and Michael nuzzling his curls. He melted into the touch.

"Do you feel better now?" Michael asked, allowing one of his hands to explore Ted's stomach and presumably hoping he wouldn't notice.

"A bit, for now. But a kiss on the cheek doesn't cure all my mental health issues." For now he was enjoying the company of someone gentle and loving, but he knew he'd start to feel worse the second he was left alone with his thoughts again.

"I know. I just wanted to cheer you up a bit-"

"So you kissed me?"

"Yeah!" Michael kissed him sweetly, trying not to smile so much as he did so. "There's nothing wrong with eating a lot and feeling good about it. But if you're feeling anxious and alone and want to binge eat junk you can always talk to me. Your mental health is important, but either way you're adorable and chubby."

"Thanks... I think." Ted settled himself against Michael's shoulder. He decided to quit while he was ahead and enjoy feeling good while it lasted, so changed the conversation to other topics. "So, you're my boyfriend now?"

"I guess." Michael planted a lazy kiss on his forehead. "That's cool."

"That is cool." Ted turned the TV on. Maybe they'd get some dinner later.

As they began to watch some lame sitcom Ted heard Michael whisper, "I've got to be the best boyfriend ever."

He was off to a pretty good start.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
